Steve Martin, Frank Oz dispute accounts of rough treatment on Little Shop Of Horrors
Harry Potter actor Miriam Margolyes accused Martin of being "horrid" to her on the set of the 1986 film
Aux News Little Shop Of Horrors
Steve Martin and Frank Oz have both released statements this weekend disputing an account from Miriam Margolyes’ new memoir, in which the Harry Potter actor writes that Martin was “unlovely and unapologetic” on the set of Little Shop Of Horrors, leaving her “repeatedly punched, slapped, and knocked down.”
Margolyes appears in one number of Oz’s 1986 film adaptation of the comedy-horror musical: “Dentist!” in which Martin’s Orin Scrivello, DDS, rampages through his own dental offices. That includes punching his assistant (Margolyes) in the face, and later slamming her with a door. In Margolyes’ account—published in her new book Oh Miriam!, and as reported by Variety—she writes that “During my only musical number (‘Dentist!’) I was hit all day by doors opening in my face; repeatedly punched, slapped, and knocked down by an unlovely and unapologetic Steve Martin. Perhaps he was method acting – and [I] came home grumpy with a splitting headache.” (She later adds that Martin is “undeniably brilliant” but that he was “horrid to me….Let it not be said that I have never suffered in the name of Art.”)
Martin has issued a statement that disputes Margolyes claims’—and especially the implication that he ignored her safety or well-being while filming together:
When I first read Miriam Margolyes pejorative account of our scene in Little Shop Of Horrors, I was surprised. My memory is that we had a good communication as professional actors. But when it is implied that I harmed her or was in some way careless about doing the stunts, I have to object. I remember taking EXTREME caution regarding the fake punch – the same caution I would use with any similar scene. She assured me she felt fine, and we did a few successful takes and stopped. There was never any physical contact between her and me, accidental or otherwise, in this scene or any other we shot.
Martin’s representatives also passed along a statement from Oz, who’s worked with Martin on multiple films:
I always rehearse physical actions in slow motion. The scene was supposed to include a fake punch. It’s puzzling what she’s talking about. It’s not the Steve I know or anyone knows. He’s always been professional and respectful of everyone on all of my shoots.
Margolyes—a veteran actor with nearly 200 credits to her name, including playing Professor Sprout in the Harry Potter films—has never been apologetic about voicing issues with other actors. Which, yes: Includes that time she says Arnold Schwarzenegger farted on her face while making End Of Days. (Schwarzenegger has never commented on that particular allegation.)
47 Comments
It does sound like she’s allegedly making a grab for money or relevance by exaggeration in several directions?
Yeah man, all the kids are rushing out to buy her book now that they know she said something bad about…Steve Martin? Wait, that can’t be right.
I mean, sure, everyone knows that men NEVER deny physical abuse of women, right?
That’s all the proof we need. You hear that, Steve Martin? YOU’RE DONE!!!
Nah. Point being WE DON’T KNOW so all the guys here (yeah, you’re guys) doing a character assassination on Margolyes are being asses.
The proper response is not ‘She’s lying!’, dudes.
What about, “Jesus Christ, I really just cannot care about this. Sorry that happened I guess”?
Yeah, we’re talking about an impossible to verify story that does not seem consistent with the evidence we have, and that (at worst) suggests Steve Martin was a jerk for a day during the Reagan Administration.It’s possible, at some point, to let things go. Not all perceived slights need to live on for eternity.
No, she’s absolutely lying. She has a reputation for making up stories about famous people. also, it’s a ridiculous notion on its face. Famous A-List actor, Steve Martin, repeatedly punched a woman in the face over and over for a scene and everyone was cool with it? And instead of bruises and a swollen lip, her injury was…a headache? Huh? Make it make sense.
It’s her truth!
There is some difference here. Even with a long-loved actor like Bill Murray who got “cancelled” late in his career, it had been known for a long time that he was “difficult” and in Hollywood circles his issues were a barely kept secret. Steve Martin isn’t some young actor, he’s been around forever. It’s pretty hard to believe absolutely no one has ever had anything close to this bad to say about the guy until this (though I suppose it’s possible that this is the only time he inexplicably acted like a prick). But thus far, no one has corroborated her story, and it’s not like Frank Oz has a bad reputation as well. If more people back her up, I’ll be happy to say, “Fuck Steve Martin,” but until then this seems really difficult to believe.
I’ll agree with that.
I wouldn’t want to work with him. He’s got ‘creep’ energy, imo. His wife is 26 years younger than he so… yeah, whatever.
lol is this a joke
I mean, sure, everyone knows that a woman has never lied.
At worst she got hurt doing numerous takes of slapstick comedy for a movie, that doesn’t make her Rihanna
You’re right, she has published multiple books and that only happens when people DON’T buy your books. Everyone lines up to publish books by people who don’t sell.
Margoyles is a terminal attention seeker, which is probably why the Guardian do an interview feature with her every couple of months.
She’s legit famous in the UK, people were going to buy this anywhere.
Here’s the number in question. I dunno, maybe they used the gentlest takes in the film, but she and the towels she’s carrying are barely making contact with that door, and that punch is clearly a forced perspective type of stunt. I’m starting to wonder if Arnold Schwarzenegger even farted in her face.
I’m not defending either account, but bear in mind that there were multiple takes and you’re only seeing one of them. So while her entire account certainly sounds very specious, this is not proof that it’s entirely false.
Normally I can’t stand musicals but goddamn this movie is great and this number is especially brilliant.
What a jerk!
The only thing that I learned from this clip from a movie that I saw once a few decades ago is that Pam and Gina from Martin were the hygienists.
Excuse you, it’s Jane Toussaint from School Daze.
Excuse me, the featured starlets of Little Shop of Horrors, and the backbone of its spectacular soundtrack had minor stints in Martin.
They’re two thirds of the Greek Chorus for the whole movie! They get most of the opening number, and it’s one of the best songs in there.
Can I still sing Suddenly Seymour in the shower?
I really don’t want this to be true, because I really want Martin to be one of the ever-decreasing good ones. But I also hesitate to come out and say Margolyes is lying, because why? The explanation I can imagine that allows everyone the benefit of the doubt is this: Martin and Oz did try and take the best care, but maybe one hit did accidentally connect. Maybe Martin didn’t notice or no one made a big deal about it and he forgot. And Margolyes did go home with a big headache, and over time the memory of that became a memory of being hit several times. I don’t mean to insinuate anything by suggesting that; memories distort, especially when there are strong emotions attached, and it has been 37 years.Of course, we can’t know for certain, and probably never will. I just hope there’s an innocent explanation, for everyone’s sake.
She’s lying.
No idea who is correct here, but there is a very clear “why.”The “why” is that we’re all reading an article about a segment of her new memoir, a book that we wouldn’t otherwise know anything about, because the AV Club would have never written about her new memoir without some striking dirt on a beloved celebrity.
That sounds like a plausible explanation and hopefully it’s approximately accurate. I’ve been wondering how we as a society should balance the need to give an audience to people who have historically gone unheard while at the same time keeping in mind the mass of scientific evidence that suggests that most if not all people are unable to remember a completely accurate version of events they were involved in. We can’t say if these are simply errors of recall or the results of bias towards oneself, nor if any bias is conscious or unconscious. But studies and trial records show different people can remember different versions of the same event even when there’s no elements of emotion or self interest involved. And it gets worse when those things are involved and the more time has elapsed since the events. Clearly eyewitness testimony isn’t a gold standard but what’s the alternative? A voluntary surveillance state?
“Martin and Oz did try and take the best care, but maybe one hit did accidentally connect.”Yeah, maybe he accidentally connected once, which is why she said he did it numerous times, all day long.
I mean, it’s odd, because in the scene where she’s punched, he’s looking away from her, as he’s singing while she’s walking up behind him, and he punches his arm out where it “connects” with her in a forced perspective way. It isn’t like a regular punch, where you have to trust the actor punching to put it in the right spot; here it’s on the actor walking up not to overshoot her mark by probably two feet.
The two options aren’t just that either it happened or the accuser is lying though. Ask anyone (family, a partner, friends) about a shared event you’ve experienced and you’ll get different answers than the one you think happened. People’s experiences are subjective.
Yep. And as stated above, human memory is frighteningly fallible.
It’s not true. It’s not even remotely plausible. How does someone get punched in the face repeatedly and only get a headache? It’s nonsense. She’s lying.
Margolyes shtick is that she says shocking things and spills the industry gossip because she doesn’t give a fuck. It’s how she’s sustained her career. However, you definitely get the feeling that all her anecdotes and tall stories are heavily embellished. I’m sure that she isn’t lying about this, but she definitely *punched* it up a little for the memoir.
Watch it in slow mo…it’s obviously a fake punch that has NO contact. And the door it’s also somewhat obvious…and I wonder if it was really even Martin who opened the door. It’s a separate shot that only shows the hand, could be a photo double.
You understand that when she says “hit all day by doors opening in my face; repeatedly punched, slapped, and knocked down” she’s not talking about the one specific take that made the final cut, right? The final take that we see is basically irrelevant to the point she’s making, no matter how exaggerated her account is.
i think she needs to be tested for dementia. movie sets are heavily policed for safety
Shut up ‘n play yer damn banjo!
My default would be to believe her, but it’s hard to take a vague, wild story of her being punched, slapped and knocked down all day long on a professional set where there’s good reasons to safeguard against that (usually, stories of abuse on set are very specific) vs. the more specific things the guys are saying about how they remembering doing stunt in movies. Which also happen to fit what’s on film.I don’t think she’s lying to bring anyone down, but it sounds like she’s making the story more interesting without realizing she’s accusing people of serious assault.
The new Miriam Margoyles autobiography is here! The new Miriam Margoyles autobiography is here! Nothing?! Are you kidding?! Page 73… “Martin, Steve!” He’s somebody now! Millions of people look at this book every day! This is the kind of spontaneous publicity – your name in print – that makes people. He’s in print!Things are going to start happening to him now.
Enough already with… this.
Looking back at Little Shop Of Horrors? I mean they dressed Steve Martin up in a black wig, had him wearing a leather jacket, and riding a motorcycle. Hmm,who else has black hair,styled the same way Steve Martin’s wig was, wears a leather jacket.. Oh that’s right Dennis Quaid. They could’ve just as easily cast Dennis Quaid in his role. So, why didn’t they?
Man, between this, some idiot columnist trying to come up with a hot take about Martin Short, and Selena Gomez getting dragged for not appreciating the fact that Chris Brown is still allowed to be in public and make music with her reaction at the VMAs, people really want to take down Only Murders in the Building, huh?Next week we’ll have someone BRAVELY COMING FORWARD to say that Tina Fey wasn’t nice to them that one time.
In other news: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, and Curly Howard have all retained counsel and filed suit against each other for alleged on-set physical abuse, dating back to 1940’s A Plumbing We Will Go through 1953’s Hold That Lion!